...Running head: Oedipus-A Tragic Hero Research Paper ENGL 102: Literature and Composition) Fall 2015 Melinda Meeds L26683811 APA Outline Thesis: In Sophocles’ “Oedipus”, Oedipus is exemplified as a tragic hero according to Aristotle’s definition because his story appeals to the reader’s humanity in the way he maintains his strengths after inadvertently causing his own downfall. I. Oedipus A. The noble birth. B. Describe Oedipus’ character. II. Tragedy A. Describe what a tragedy is. B. Describe the tragedies Oedipus has faced. III. A tragic hero A. Describe what makes Oedipus a tragic hero. B. Describe how Oedipus handles life after the pitfalls he has faced. Oedipus-A Tragic Hero Sophocles’ Oedipus is a very well-known tragic hero in dramatic literature. Oedipus, in the story, is a king with a great personality however his morality is what leads him to his demise. This mish mash of Oedipus’ disposition is what leads a reader to feeling sympathetic. In Sophocles’ “Oedipus”, Oedipus is exemplified as a tragic hero according to Aristotle’s definition because his story appeals to the reader’s humanity in the way he maintains his strengths after inadvertently causing his own downfall. According to Aristotle, "a man doesn't become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall” (Hume, n.d.). In Sophocles’ Oedipus, Oedipus possesses specific qualities that allow him to be considered a tragic hero. These qualities include...
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...Oedipus the King written by Philosopher Sophocles was regarded as an excellent play by Aristotle, so much he used it to illustrate the many principles of tragedy. Through Sophocles play, we can see the definition of the tragic hero which according to Aristotle tragedy arouses pity and fear from the audience towards the character. The plot and Oedipus character development along the play, causes readers to pity the King as a tragic hero. Sophocles skills have Oedipus recognizing his guilt and at the same time the shocking reversal of destiny. The king is not aware that he killed his father and wedded his mother. He is the reason for the plague that Thebes is going thru according to the gods. Thebes have been stroke by the plague and upon...
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...Oedipus as a Tragic Hero Oedipus, who is a great ruler with the ideal characteristics that a hero would have, falls under the category of a tragic hero based off Aristotle’s definition. According to Aristotle, Oedipus fits in as an ideal tragic hero due to the the reader’s connection to the protagonist in regards to the emotional attachment created, the fear of what will happen due to a major flaw in the character, and the pitying for the hero as he suffers while facing his destiny. The nobility that Oedipus posses is an integral trait that makes the reader feel attached to his character. Although he does not yet know, he is the son of Laius and Jocasta, who were better known to be the King and Queen of Thebes. Even though they were not his biological parents, Oedipus himself believed that he was the son of Polybus and Merope, King and Queen of Corinth. “Polybus of Corinth was my father, my mother was the Dorian Merope” (Gould 775). Another heroic action...
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...Oedipus is not a Greek god but a Greek hero in Greek mythology. He became famous by accidently fulfilling a prophecy. Oedipus is not a god of anything but just a Greek hero in the Greek mythology according to wiki. The Greeks worship Oedipus for being a hero to the Greeks and taking his farther place without knowing that he had killed his father. Oedipus was born to his parents of Laius and Jocasta but his father did not want him due to the prophecy. Oedipus as a baby his ankles pierced and he was taken by King Polybus of Corinth. Family members of Oedipus are Laius, Jocasta, Polybus, and Merope. When King Polybus died, Oedipus was relieved thinking that Polybus was his real father. The first myth of Oedipus is how he knew that Polybus and...
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...Helmer in this patriarchal society. Not only does this play focus on the status of women at this time, but how they fall victim to the role of a “doll wife”. In a separate work, Aristotle’s Poetics, an image of the ideal tragic hero is outlined and analyzed. This same idea was used by Sophocles’ creation of Oedipus the King. Nora and Oedipus can be compared as tragic heroes as they both meet the requirements of this status according to the qualities outlined by Aristotle. There are multiple essential characteristics Aristotle claims create a tragic hero. The first is that the character must be good, but flawed in some way; displayed through Oedipus’ actions as he wants to seek truth and be a savior to the people. When Creon tells him of Apollo’s commands to “drive the corruption from the land”, Oedipus replies, “I am the land’s avenger by all rights and Apollo’s champion too” (Sophocles, 1431). However, he continues with “but not to assist some distant kinsman, no, for my own sake I’ll rid us of this corruption” (Sophocles,...
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...September 2013 Oedipus Tragic Hero Webster’s dictionary defines a hero as a person, who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. Although this definition accurately describes Oedipus’ character, tragic hero is more of an apt description. A tragic hero is defined usually by the following: One, A man of noble stature. Two, A selfless man who is not afraid to come under scrutiny. Three, The hero honorably receives the punishment given to him. From the beginning to end of the play Oedipus The King, by Sophocles, Oedipus truly defines himself as a hero, a tragic hero. Oedipus is first introduced as the sole ruler of Thebes. Kings/Dictators are usually looked down upon due to their brash and selfish behavior, but Oedipus is the opposite. A priest say, “Therefore, O mighty power, we turn to you: find us our safety, find us a remedy, whether by counsel of the gods or of men. A king of wisdom tested in the past can act in a time of troubles, and act well. Noblest of men, restore life to your city! “(Sophocles 2) when Oedipus makes a declaration to save the city of Thebes from the ongoing plague. The priest calls him the “Noblest of men” in marvel, at the fact, a man of such high stature and importance takes the time to address the concerns of his people. The words used to describe Oedipus such as liberator, noblest of men, boldness, and mighty power show that the people of Thebes rely on and look to Oedipus for safety and guidance...
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...tell of a hero with great accomplishments, but disastrous failures. In and throughout the play, Oedipus the King, by the Greek play written by Sophocles, then translated for modern times, is and is probably, one of the greatest example of a heroic tragedy. The author, Sophocles, first writes and portrays the main character, Oedipus, as man accredited for his great understandings, great pride, and accomplishments, which is, suggesting that he is a hero. The character Oedipus eventually loses his respect and dignity for something so catastrophic and in consequence destroys Oedipus, who was once called a hero. In the end, though, the greatest tragedy can be said that Oedipus disgraces himself and his family for the killing of his father, marrying and or forcefully raping his mother, and being responsible for the downfall of his reign. One of the first examples of when you see Oedipus’s pride and ego get to him is when he actually has his father killed. Oedipus had sent his men to kill certain people objecting his rule, but unknowingly, has his father killed. Oedipus not really caring about the predetermined fate he is aware of, is...
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...Oedipus, however, is a contradictory hero, an ambiguous model. Indeed, it represents both superior wisdom and absolute horror. Oedipus is the equivalent of incest. He commits crimes that disrupt the order of the world and that bring plague on the city. So do not think of him as a hero of entity worthy of admiration. Moreover, he is not subject to action, his destiny, he does not control the plot, as one would expect it from a hero. He only submits to the prophecies spoken by the gods, he is only a pawn in their plans. Although he seems active, leading a quest to get to know himself, his position is not heroic since he is the last to discover the truth about his origins. So that's rather a pathetic image offered by the character of Oedipus, on whom the spell falls. It is more a martyr a role reinforced...
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...Our idea of a “hero” today is very different from the ancient Greeks’ concept of what a “hero” is. The Greeks believed that a hero was a human, who had superhuman abilities by virtue. Many of the heroes resulted from an illicit relationship between a human and a deity. While a human and deity creating a child would be considered fictional today, the ancient Greeks believed that these heroes were mortals, but were worthy of worship despite their mortality. They were subjects of local religious worship and served as models for the ancient citizens. The heroic myths functioned as a method for recording history and providing precedent for political programs. The ancient Greeks valued loyalty, intelligence, family, and glory amongst many other...
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...A tragic hero, without an audiences' sympathy, is nothing more than a wasted character. The hero must have nobility, enough to reward him credibility with their audience. From there, he must reach a turning point from his former fortune to utter misery by the hands of his own landmark flaw. With these three combinations, he must, without exception, achieve audience sympathy; without it his lesson becomes useless, just he himself does. Though she may not fit the mold of the tragic Aristotle defined, Nora surpasses the title entirely. While still holding the three key features of nobility, harmartia, and peripetia, Nora claims victory over Oedipus as audiences willing give her their sympathy, making her the more affective tragic hero. Despite...
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...Oedipus the King: The Hero of Personal Autonomy in Inevitable Fate Tragedy Abstract: Oedipus the King, written by Sophocles, who was one of Athens’s three great tragic dramatists, is an indisputably classical tragedy in literature history. And Oedipus’s tragic fate, murdering his father and marrying his mother, is the most controversial point. This paper mainly analyzes the conflict between Oedipus’s spirit of personal autonomy and the oracle predetermined fate, and the causes of Oedipus’s inevitable tragedy. Key word: Oedipus; personal autonomy; fate; inevitability Introduction Oedipus the King is based on a Greek myth that Oedipus killed his father and married to his mother, showing the Greek tragedy’s conflict rich of typical significance...
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...develops an emotional attachment to the tragic hero; second, the audience fears what may befall the hero; and finally (after misfortune strikes) the audience pities the suffering hero. Through these attachments the individual members of the audience go through a catharsis, a term which Aristotle borrowed from the medical writers of his day, which means a "refining" -- the viewer of a tragedy refines his or her sense of difficult ethical issues through a vicarious experious of such thorny problems. Clearly, for Aristotle's theory to work, the tragic hero must be a complex and well-constructed character, as in Sophocles' Oedipus the King. As a tragic hero, Oedipus elicits the three needed responses from the audience far better than most; indeed, Aristotle and subsequent critics have labeled Oedipus the ideal tragic hero. A careful examination of Oedipus and how he meets and exceeds the parameters of the tragic hero reveals that he legitimately deserves this title. Oedipus' nobility and virtue provide his first key to success as a tragic hero. Following Aristotle, the audience must respect the tragic hero as a "larger and better" version of themselves. The dynamic nature of Oedipus' nobility earns him this respect. First, as any Greek audience member would know, Oedipus is actually the son of Laius and Jocasta, the King and Queen of Thebes. Thus, he is a noble in the simplest sense; that is, his parents were themselves royalty. Second, Oedipus himself believes he is the son of...
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...Fitzgerald. The Oedipus Cycle. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1958. Print. The Alabama A&M University World Literature Anthology. New York: Pearson, 2009. Scodel, Ruth. "Oedipus the King." An Introduction to Greek Tragedy. New York: Cambridge UP, 2010. Print. What defines an epic hero? There are many things that do, and I’m going to break the Epic Hero Cycle down describing how Job from the bible qualifies as an epic hero in the following passage. I will first list, and describe each step in the Epic Hero Cycle, then give a brief summary of the story, then describe each step of the Epic Hero Cycle using references of Oedipus from the Oedipus the King. The first step of the Epic Hero Cycle is meeting the main character, who usually possesses some type of supernatural power. The character is introduced, sometimes with an introduction. Occasionally there is a brief background on the character. The hero’s family may be introduced. The hero’s life may be good at the time, or it may be going bad. The second step of the Epic Hero Cycle is when the hero is charged with a quest. Usually given by a king or someone in high power, the hero is sent off on a voyage. Sometimes the hero is a figure such as an ultimate warrior, and the king sends him on a voyage since he is the bravest. The third step in the Epic Hero Cycle is when the hero is challenged with a test. The test is to prove himself as a worthy hero who can overcome...
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...Hamartia in Oedipus the King According to the Aristotelian characteristics of good tragedy, the tragic character should not fall due to either excessive virtue or excessive wickedness, but due to what Aristotle called hamartia. Hamartia may be interpreted as either a flaw in character or an error in judgement. Oedipus, the tragic character in Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, certainly makes several such mistakes; however, the pervasive pattern of his judgemental errors seems to indicate a basic character flaw that precipitates them. Oedipus’ character flaw is ego. This is made evident in the opening lines of the prologue when he states "Here I am myself--you all know me, the world knows my fame: I am Oedipus." (ll. 7-9) His conceit is the root cause of a number of related problems. Among these are recklessness, disrespect, and stubbornness. Oedipus displays an attitude of recklessness and disrespect throughout the play. When he makes his proclamation and no one confesses to the murder of Laius, Oedipus loses patience immediately and rushes into his curse. Later, he displays a short temper to Tiresias: "You, you scum of the earth . . . out with it, once and for all!," (ll. 381, 383) and "Enough! Such filth from him? Insufferable--what, still alive? Get out--faster, back where you came from--vanish!" (ll. 490-492) If an unwillingness to listen may be considered stubbornness, certainly Oedipus would take advice from no one who would tell him to drop the matter of his...
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...Sophocles' Oedipus is a perfect fit to Aristotle's Ideal Tragic Hero. Oedipus follows all of the rules, with a hamartia, an anagnorisis, and a peripeteia. The audience is introduced to the hamartia, or tragic flaw, of Oedipus early in the play. Oedipus believes he can dodge the oracle given to him at Delphi that he will kill his father and marry his mother. By leaving the city of Corinth and heading to Thebes, Oedipus thinks that he can outsmart the will that the gods have for him. However, the audience knows that one cannot run away from an oracle. The oracle will come true no matter what is done. Therefore, the hamartia of Oedipus is his belief that he can evade his oracle. Oedipus' anagnorisis, recognition, later comes when he is told that it was he who killed the former King Lauis and that he is, in fact, now married to his own mother. The city of Thebes had been searching for King Lauis' murderer in order to drive him out of Thebes to save the city from the plague. With this anagnorisis Oedipus is finally led to his peripeteia, or downfall. First of all, Oedipus is put to shame in front of his entire city because of his incestuous act of marrying his mother. But, more importantly, he realizes that he had not successfully avoided the oracle. In order to try to save himself he blinds himself. If he is not able to see the truth with his own eyes, he should not be able to enjoy the gift of sight. http://personal.monm.edu/ysample/aristotle.htm Oedipus follows ten of the points...
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